I’m sad to say, it all boils down to $$$$. I know. It’s counterintuitive. You would think the musicians would want to be on the air, because that would help them get noticed and sell CDs or downloads. Well, classical musicians do want to be on the air, but they expect to be paid for it, because they are professionals who deserve to be paid a living wage for their work.
It makes sense that the musicians earn royalties for their CDs. After all, several middlemen (the studios, the record companies, the merchants, and the stations) are making money off the fruits of their labor.
But the radio is another matter. The stations do support the musicians when they pay BMI and ASCAP for royalties, but they can’t afford to shell out extra payments for live concerts. Stations also have to pay syndicators (e.g., American Public Media and NPR) for programming (membership fees based on market size, plus fees for specific programs), though the WFMT Radio Network offers programs free to stations. Believe me; stations are operating on very tight budgets.